Hey all, it's been a while since I last posted anything - I just got the internet back. As i'm sure you've all missed me, i'm dropping a few reviews on you today, kind of like a welcome back. The first of 4 to come is Jonah Hex.
Yes, I did go see this movie. Why? Because I love comic books and any movie based on comic books (except Daredevil...dear god...) and also because I love the wild west. For those of you unfamiliar with the story of Jonah Hex (and i do imagine that would be a lot of you, being as Hex is a more obscure comic title), it's about a confederate soldier just after the civil war era of the U.S.A. whose reluctance to slaughter innocent women and children gets the General Turnbull's (John Malkovich)son killed. As payback, Turnbull and some of his cronies kill Hex's (Josh Brolin) wife and son, brand his face and leave him for dead. Hex is found in a near dead state by some nearby natives, and is revived. During his near death experience, however, Hex learns to communicate with the dead, and wakes up with the ability to talk to corpses. Hex leaves to seek his revenge on Turnbull, but discovers that Turnbull is already dead. Unsatisfied, he turns to a life of bounty hunting to assuage his guilty conscience and his burning desire for revenge. Along the way he meets Lilah (Megan Fox) a takes-no-shit prostitute with a soft spot for Hex. Years later, the US government is looking for Hex because, as it turns out, Turnbull is not actually dead, and is in fact in the process of building a superweapon that will destroy the nation of America. It's up to the reluctant Hex to take down Turnbull and finally quench his thirst for vengance.
The first thing I will say is that this movie, like any other movie with him in it, would be much much better off WITHOUT JOHN MALKOVICH. Seriously, the guy is pushing 60, but age hasn't ripened his acting at all. He is still a pile of shit as an actor, can't keep an accent straight for more than a minute, and generally looks like a gremlin. Malkovich does not work in the role of Turnbull, who is supposed to be a badass motherfucker who doesn't care about blowing up a continent, but Malkovich makes the character seem pretty much like a giant pussy. Also, Turnbull's right hand man is some sort of Irish gangster, which I thought was completely unnecessary, and his fake irish brogue grated on my ears after about 10 minutes.
Josh Brolin, as always, was badass in his portrayal of the scarred gunman, but unfortunately Brolin seemed to be the only one taking his job seriously. Had the rest of the cast been different (minus Fox) we might be looking at a different movie, but sadly Josh Brolin alone was not enough to carry this film.
Speaking of Megan Fox, many people criticized her acting in this film which I believe is unfair. Fox's screentime is so short in this movie that it's almost negligible. However, from the few minutes that she IS in the movie, in my opinion, she gave us much more than in Transformers. Good on you Megan.
This movie earns points for having cool landscapes and art direction (who doesn't love the wild west, really?) but loses out for having pretty terrible casting, acting, and a weak plot. It's a movie that's definitely for 14 year old boys, or anyone else whom howitzers on horses or dynamite crossbows caters to. If you're going to watch it, don't spend money on it.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Sunday, July 4, 2010
The Last Airbender
It's been pretty quiet on the Shyamalan front since his last two flicks, The Happening and Lady in the Water flopped pretty badly at the box office. But he's back and helming the adaptation of the popular anime series Avatar: The Last Airbender, the title of which, for obvious reasons, was shortened merely to The Last Airbender. Once again, if you're looking for a comparison between the film and the cartoon, I unfortunately can't help you there, as I never watched the series. So, keep in mind that this review is based on a stand alone viewing of the film, and has no intention of comparing to the original anime.
This universe revolves around people called Benders, who are capable of controlling the element of their respective nature. The world is divided into the four nations - Wind, Water, Earth, and Fire. All the nations live in peaceful harmony, under the watchful eye of the Avatar - the sole bender who is able to control all the elements. But the fire nation, burning with ambition, seethes against the harmony and is determined to control the entire world. And it is with that notion in mind that they begin their domination, and the Avatar disappears, never to be seen again.
We start off in the furthest reaches of the Water nation. Katara, the last water bender in the southern water clans, is on a hunting trip with her brother Sokka. While on the trail of tiger seals, the siblings notice a dark shape underneath the water. Sokka, thinking that it may be a big catch, cracks the ice, and what he thought to be an animal turns out to be a giant sphere of ice. As they watch, astounded, the giant sphere cracks open to reveal a young boy, no older than Katara. The two drag the boy back to his village, where they discover that he is covered in tattoos marking him as an air bender. They are shocked, as the Wind nation was destroyed by the Fire nation due to prophecies that said the next incarnation of the Avatar would be born into the wind clans. The boy, Aang, is reluctant to speak of his past, but when the army of the Fire nation comes calling, Aang single handedly fights them off, and reveals that he is indeed the last air bender. He reveals to Katara and Sokka that he is also the reincarnation of the Avatar, but chose to run away when this was discovered, as he would be forced to sacrifice a normal life. When Sokka notes that he has thus far only used air bending, Aang admits to the two that he ran away before he could be trained to master the other elements, more than 100 years ago. While on the run, the Fire army got wind of his trail, and he was forced to cocoon himself in the ice sphere. Now, with the Fire nation close to its goal of complete global domination, Aang sets off on a pilgrimage to master the other three elements - Water, Earth, and Fire, in order to restore balance to the world and maintain the harmony of the planet.
The first thing to note is that this film is going to be the first of a three part series, and this one is all about the Water clans. If you had notions of seeing Aang bend everything he says, you can save it for the sequels (if it does well enough at the box office). Secondly, the film is available for viewing in 3D, but i'm not really sure why, as there was hardly any 3D in it. Avatar this ain't (no pun intended.)
Shyamalan's work with the camera and the settings and set dressings is extraordinary. This film is very visually appealing, with lots of wide sweeping shots of beautiful landscapes, and sets that are very elaborate and relevant to the nation they belong to. The world that is created is so fantastic that it's easy to believe in it. Unfortunately, all this can only be said about the visuals.
This film boasts a nearly 100% unknown cast, with its only veterans being Cliff Curtis (whom you may recognize as FBI Director Bowman from Live Free or Die Hard - an excellent movie as a side note), Jackson Rathbone (you probably know him as Jasper Hale, all you twihards) and Dev Patel (who's breakout role in Slumdog Millionaire took the world by storm.) The rest of the cast are fresh faces, and you can tell, are pretty new to acting as well. It seems as though Shyamalan was more intent on making sure their martial arts were perfected rather than their acting, resulting in some stiff delivery of a few lines. But as the majority of the cast are children, they do a pretty decent job of holding the movie. Also, Noah Ringer (who plays Aang) has a serious overbite that bothered me throughout the duration of the movie. Hopefully after this movie he'll have enough money to do something about it.
Acting aside, the bending in this movie, the reason you came to see it at all, is really really damn cool. The bending techniques are all based on martial arts, with each element based on a different style. As a martial arts fan, this is cool enough, but with the added imagery of the elements being manipulated, this movie takes weather control to the next level. If you love The Force, this'll make you wet your pants.
Also, despite it being a Shyamalan film, there is no twist ending to this movie, which is good, because I thought he overplayed that pony two films ago.
All in all, this movie was an entertaining little film. There was a little bit of iffy acting, but that's forgivable as the children will become more seasoned as the series progresses. The main draw of the film, the bending, is visually very cool, and definitely makes you wish you were a master of any element. If you find yourself at the theatres not knowing what to watch, this film will probably tickle your fancy at least a little bit.
This universe revolves around people called Benders, who are capable of controlling the element of their respective nature. The world is divided into the four nations - Wind, Water, Earth, and Fire. All the nations live in peaceful harmony, under the watchful eye of the Avatar - the sole bender who is able to control all the elements. But the fire nation, burning with ambition, seethes against the harmony and is determined to control the entire world. And it is with that notion in mind that they begin their domination, and the Avatar disappears, never to be seen again.
We start off in the furthest reaches of the Water nation. Katara, the last water bender in the southern water clans, is on a hunting trip with her brother Sokka. While on the trail of tiger seals, the siblings notice a dark shape underneath the water. Sokka, thinking that it may be a big catch, cracks the ice, and what he thought to be an animal turns out to be a giant sphere of ice. As they watch, astounded, the giant sphere cracks open to reveal a young boy, no older than Katara. The two drag the boy back to his village, where they discover that he is covered in tattoos marking him as an air bender. They are shocked, as the Wind nation was destroyed by the Fire nation due to prophecies that said the next incarnation of the Avatar would be born into the wind clans. The boy, Aang, is reluctant to speak of his past, but when the army of the Fire nation comes calling, Aang single handedly fights them off, and reveals that he is indeed the last air bender. He reveals to Katara and Sokka that he is also the reincarnation of the Avatar, but chose to run away when this was discovered, as he would be forced to sacrifice a normal life. When Sokka notes that he has thus far only used air bending, Aang admits to the two that he ran away before he could be trained to master the other elements, more than 100 years ago. While on the run, the Fire army got wind of his trail, and he was forced to cocoon himself in the ice sphere. Now, with the Fire nation close to its goal of complete global domination, Aang sets off on a pilgrimage to master the other three elements - Water, Earth, and Fire, in order to restore balance to the world and maintain the harmony of the planet.
The first thing to note is that this film is going to be the first of a three part series, and this one is all about the Water clans. If you had notions of seeing Aang bend everything he says, you can save it for the sequels (if it does well enough at the box office). Secondly, the film is available for viewing in 3D, but i'm not really sure why, as there was hardly any 3D in it. Avatar this ain't (no pun intended.)
Shyamalan's work with the camera and the settings and set dressings is extraordinary. This film is very visually appealing, with lots of wide sweeping shots of beautiful landscapes, and sets that are very elaborate and relevant to the nation they belong to. The world that is created is so fantastic that it's easy to believe in it. Unfortunately, all this can only be said about the visuals.
This film boasts a nearly 100% unknown cast, with its only veterans being Cliff Curtis (whom you may recognize as FBI Director Bowman from Live Free or Die Hard - an excellent movie as a side note), Jackson Rathbone (you probably know him as Jasper Hale, all you twihards) and Dev Patel (who's breakout role in Slumdog Millionaire took the world by storm.) The rest of the cast are fresh faces, and you can tell, are pretty new to acting as well. It seems as though Shyamalan was more intent on making sure their martial arts were perfected rather than their acting, resulting in some stiff delivery of a few lines. But as the majority of the cast are children, they do a pretty decent job of holding the movie. Also, Noah Ringer (who plays Aang) has a serious overbite that bothered me throughout the duration of the movie. Hopefully after this movie he'll have enough money to do something about it.
Acting aside, the bending in this movie, the reason you came to see it at all, is really really damn cool. The bending techniques are all based on martial arts, with each element based on a different style. As a martial arts fan, this is cool enough, but with the added imagery of the elements being manipulated, this movie takes weather control to the next level. If you love The Force, this'll make you wet your pants.
Also, despite it being a Shyamalan film, there is no twist ending to this movie, which is good, because I thought he overplayed that pony two films ago.
All in all, this movie was an entertaining little film. There was a little bit of iffy acting, but that's forgivable as the children will become more seasoned as the series progresses. The main draw of the film, the bending, is visually very cool, and definitely makes you wish you were a master of any element. If you find yourself at the theatres not knowing what to watch, this film will probably tickle your fancy at least a little bit.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Grown Ups
I went to see this movie in great anticipation, mainly because I a large fan of Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, David Spade and well, the whole crew really. I really enjoyed "I now Pronounce you Chuck and Larry", which was directed by Dennis Dugan who helmed "Grown Ups", and also starred Sandler and James.
The Crew - Lenny (Adam Sandler), Eric (Kevin James), Kurt (Chris Rock), Marcus (David Spade), and Rob (Rob Scheider - go figure) are a group of childhood friends who are getting together for the first time in many years in order to mourn the passing of their boyhood basketball coach. In order to do so, they've rented an old beachside house for the weekend, which they used to stay in as boys. The story centers around Lenny, who is a famous hollywood producer. His children have grown up as spoiled, snotty kids who dislike places without cell phone reception and dislike physical activity even more. Lenny is seeing that their interaction with other children and proximity to nature is starting to break them from their shell of xbox and television, and wants his kids to have the full experience of the outdoors. However, his wife Roxanne (Salma Hayek)has a fashion show in Milan, and they've planned on leaving the weekend retreat early to see the show. Lenny has to make the decision whether to go or stay. Meanwhile, the crew's rival basketball team of youth has also made the beach their vacation spot and have challenged them to a re-match of their championship game. It's up to the Grown Ups to show their kids what fun is all about, and to bring glory to their basketball name once more.
Sadly, the title reflects the humour in this movie. Not adult humour mind you, Grown Up humour. Happy Madison productions seems to be moving from the dick and fart jokes that made the company a powerhouse, to a more family oriented medium. Not that it's necessarily a bad thing, I respect the lads for targeting a more general demographic, but I will sorely miss lines like "Well let's gay that shit up then! Gay, Gay, Gay, ultra gay."
As a movie as a whole, it also seemed somewhat lacking. The final confontation/altercation/whatever you want to call it just didn't seem as though it had stakes that were not very high. As a result, you as a viewer simply don't really care about the results of the basketball game. In terms of acting, the boys are all seasoned veterans and can hold their own on screen, but the movie itself just lacks any moments for astounding acting.
All in all, this film was a disappointment. It's definitely a good message for young families out there, addressing the issue of video games and television taking over sports and playing outdoors, but as it stands as a Happy Madison production (Producers of fine films in recent years like Grandma's Boy, Benchwarmers, and Chuck and Larry) it falls short.
The Crew - Lenny (Adam Sandler), Eric (Kevin James), Kurt (Chris Rock), Marcus (David Spade), and Rob (Rob Scheider - go figure) are a group of childhood friends who are getting together for the first time in many years in order to mourn the passing of their boyhood basketball coach. In order to do so, they've rented an old beachside house for the weekend, which they used to stay in as boys. The story centers around Lenny, who is a famous hollywood producer. His children have grown up as spoiled, snotty kids who dislike places without cell phone reception and dislike physical activity even more. Lenny is seeing that their interaction with other children and proximity to nature is starting to break them from their shell of xbox and television, and wants his kids to have the full experience of the outdoors. However, his wife Roxanne (Salma Hayek)has a fashion show in Milan, and they've planned on leaving the weekend retreat early to see the show. Lenny has to make the decision whether to go or stay. Meanwhile, the crew's rival basketball team of youth has also made the beach their vacation spot and have challenged them to a re-match of their championship game. It's up to the Grown Ups to show their kids what fun is all about, and to bring glory to their basketball name once more.
Sadly, the title reflects the humour in this movie. Not adult humour mind you, Grown Up humour. Happy Madison productions seems to be moving from the dick and fart jokes that made the company a powerhouse, to a more family oriented medium. Not that it's necessarily a bad thing, I respect the lads for targeting a more general demographic, but I will sorely miss lines like "Well let's gay that shit up then! Gay, Gay, Gay, ultra gay."
As a movie as a whole, it also seemed somewhat lacking. The final confontation/altercation/whatever you want to call it just didn't seem as though it had stakes that were not very high. As a result, you as a viewer simply don't really care about the results of the basketball game. In terms of acting, the boys are all seasoned veterans and can hold their own on screen, but the movie itself just lacks any moments for astounding acting.
All in all, this film was a disappointment. It's definitely a good message for young families out there, addressing the issue of video games and television taking over sports and playing outdoors, but as it stands as a Happy Madison production (Producers of fine films in recent years like Grandma's Boy, Benchwarmers, and Chuck and Larry) it falls short.
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